Combustion CVD: A clean Alternative to Chromium Electroplating

Not Available Currently, most semiconductor manufactures rely on electronic design automation (EDA) tools to design advanced microelectronics. However, their use for radiation-hardened (rad-hard) microelectronics is limited, since there is no available set of rad-hard design rules. Therefore, there is a need to develop computational models, starting from high-fidelity physics to circuit-level models, and from them, derive design rules for advanced rad-hard integrated circuits. To address these problems, CFDRC in collaboration with Air Force Phillips Laboratory, Vanderbilt University (Dr. R. Schrimpf), and Tanner (EDA Division), is proposing to: 1) Develop guidelines and methodologies for existing microelectronics CAD systems; 2) Develop computational environment for generating rad-hard design rules from 2D and 3D device simulations, using unstructured, adaptive mesh technologies and advanced hydrodynamic (HD) semiconductor model, enhanced with radiation-effects models; and 3) Incorporate the radiation hardening design rules into a commercial ECAD system. This will also demonstrate the feasibility of automating this process. The success of Phase I work on submicron silicon transistors will set a good foundation for Phase II, where the methodology and computational environment for rad-hard design rules will be extended for: Quantum-Well Photonic Devices (VCSEL's) , MEMS, and Nano Devices (RTDs).